4 pencils cost $4.84. Which equation would help determine the cost of 2 pencils?
Answer: There are several equations that could help determine the cost, each with a slightly different approach. We can write the fact that 4 pencils cost $4.84 as a proportion: $\dfrac{4}{\$4.84}$ Let $x$ represent the unknown cost of 2 pencils. Since 2 pencils cost $x$ , we have the following proportion: $\dfrac{2}{x}$ The cost changes along with the number of pencils purchased, and so the two proportions are equivalent. $\dfrac{4}{\$4.84} = \dfrac{2}{x}$